hearken

verb

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heark·en | \ ˈhär-kən

variants: or harken

hearkened or harkened; hearkening\ ˈhärk-niŋ

, ˈhär-kə- \ or harkening

Definition of hearken

intransitive verb

1 : listen hearkened without much mental comment— Theodore Dreiser

2 : to give respectful attention the humble folk who hearkened to these evangelists— G. M. Stephenson

3 : to bring to mind something in the past : hearken back Portrayals of dinosaurs with lizard-like tongues hearken to early interpretations of the beasts as oversized lizards.— Mindy Weisberger

transitive verb

archaic : to give heed to : hear

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about hearken

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Synonyms & Antonyms for hearken

Synonyms

Antonyms

ignore,
tune out

Examples of hearken in a Sentence

hearken! I hear the distant beat of the hooves of many horses

Recent Examples on the Web Instead, rooms and suites now feature palettes with tans, taupes, sea-glass greens, and pelagic blues that hearken to the nearby beach. — Eric Rosen, Forbes, "The New Hilton Santa Monica Opens Today In Los Angeles," 9 Apr. 2021 Their meals mingled the specialties of Osorio’s native Peru with desserts and baking that often hearken to Bell’s Kentucky upbringing. — Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, "The 101: These L.A. takeout pop-ups are meeting the moment and forging a future," 8 Dec. 2020 MacAdams donned a white suit and painted himself green to hearken the ghost of William Mulholland, chief engineer of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. — Los Angeles Times, "Lewis MacAdams, famed crusader for the Los Angeles River, dies at 75," 21 Apr. 2020 Readers responded to stories that hearkened to the best mystery writing of the past but whose style spoke to the present. — Sarah Weinman, Los Angeles Times, "Appreciation: Mary Higgins Clark and her endearing women in peril," 1 Feb. 2020 Shows like Gunsmoke pulled the little bit of cowboy that was in all of us to the surface, and the world was ripe for a .22 LR single-action revolver that hearkened to the Old West. — Richard Mann, Field & Stream, "25 of the Best Handguns Ever," 6 June 2019 Brady’s cameo, some felt, hearkened to the Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who was charged in February with soliciting prostitution at a massage parlor in Florida. — Jason Duaine Hahn, PEOPLE.com, "Tom Brady Denies Netflix Cameo That Takes Place at Spa Is a Dig at Patriots Owner Robert Kraft," 21 Oct. 2019 The garments hearken to past centuries when the lines between gender were not so fixed, when men wore ruffles and silk stockings and everyone wore wigs and powdered their hair. — Robin Givhan, Washington Post, "Evaluating the environment — and ourselves — at the Comme des Garçons and Noir by Kei Ninomiya shows," 29 Sep. 2019 Laced with scripture, historical references, and even a quote from beloved novelist Toni Morrison, Booker's remarks hearkened a familiar stump theme of his—the power of love, according to CBS Campaign Reporter LaCrai Mitchell. — Caitlin Conant, CBS News, "2020 Daily Trail Markers: Biden says Trump "encourages and emboldens" white supremacy," 7 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hearken.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.